Some more recent numbers are here. Assuming slightly less than linear scaling you're probably looking in the region of a 13 min tpf for 2 x 6174s running a 6901. That'd currently give a ppd of about 105K with this fairly typical bigadv unit. Clearly the number would rise with 6903/4s and fall with 2684s.

Some more recent numbers are here. Assuming slightly less than linear scaling you're probably looking in the region of a 13 min tpf for 2 x 6174s running a 6901. That'd currently give a ppd of about 105K with this fairly typical bigadv unit. Clearly the number would rise with 6903/4s and fall with 2684s.

I daren't ask what cunning plan you're working on

Thanks for that phoenicis, food for thought indeed.

I suppose 2 X 6128HE would equate to approx 63.5K PPD then ?

I want to have a crack at -bigbeta and ATM I don't have a 12 core (or greater ) machine.

Your latest project got me thinking, a G34 mobo would allow future AMD upgrades or should I wait for Sandy Bridge E or its successor?

Sandy Bridge E probably would be the cheapest option but I have a hankering to build a dual processor machine.

BTW what PSU and cpu coolers are you going to use on your new build?

__________________

Last edited by One_Box; 12th Jul 2011 at 19:56.
Reason: forgot a question!

Sorry for the delay in responding One_Box. I just received the m/b and wanted to check that everything worked OK before giving any advice. The rig has posted, loaded Ubuntu and 32 cores are showing - so far so good

My guess is that 2 x 6128HEs would actually achieve lower ppd than a OC 980X so you'd probably see about 50 to 55K on a 6901. With the reduced prices of the Intel hex cores, the G34 Opteron solution isn't particularly cost effective until the core count gets fairly high. In practical terms this means 12 core chips or 4 sockets or both. Within the standard range available, 32 slow cores should net you more than 24 fast cores with the chips costing less but the 4P motherboard more.

I'm not sure what to advise regarding Sandy Bridge E. It pretty much depends on timing. They will no doubt present another step change in performance but my understanding is that they won't be released for a while. I believe the upgrade path (Interlagos) for the Opterons may arrive beforehand and we should see a number of 12 core Opterons entering the second hand market. This is what prompted me to follow the path I did so I'm probably somewhat biased.

The power supply is a Corsair 850AX which is way OTT for the rigs power draw but it's efficient, has the requisite number of connectors and provides plenty of headroom for upgrades.

The heatsinks are Supermicro SNK-P0043Ps which are passive 2U units. This is just a stop gap measure until I can lay my hands on the 92mm Noctua heatsinks. The Supermicros need plenty of airflow across the m/b for which I'm using a desk fan at the moment.

Sorry for the delay in responding One_Box. I just received the m/b and wanted to check that everything worked OK before giving any advice. The rig has posted, loaded Ubuntu and 32 cores are showing - so far so good

Is it crunching yet? would be keen to know what sort of ppd you're getting & power draw.

Work keeps getting in way but Iíve finally managed to start some bigadv crunching. The work unit picked up was a 6904 which it's running at a tpf of 31m 36s for a ppd of 243K. It's early days but this has surprised me because that's slightly faster than my slowest SR2 running at 4.2GHz. I was expected it to be about 10% slower.

The power draw from the wall is 430W which is a bit higher than I'd hoped on HE chips.

Overall, not to shabby for the second slowest Magny-Cours CPU. It got me thinking of upgrades already but I'll try to resist the temptation in light of the approach to the recent bigadv changes.

The passive heatsinks are not so good however. Things were getting quite toasty even with wind tunnel airflow hitting them. I've stuck 4 Gentle Typhoons on top of them and now the temps are below 50 degrees C at full load. I never would have thought I'd be using blutack on heatsinks. It seems to be resilient under high temps but the practice is pretty shameless all the same.

Work keeps getting in way but Iíve finally managed to start some bigadv crunching. The work unit picked up was a 6904 which it's running at a tpf of 31m 36s for a ppd of 243K. It's early days but this has surprised me because that's slightly faster than my slowest SR2 running at 4.2GHz. I was expected it to be about 10% slower.

The power draw from the wall is 430W which is a bit higher than I'd hoped on HE chips.

Overall, not to shabby for the second slowest Magny-Cours CPU. It got me thinking of upgrades already but I'll try to resist the temptation in light of the approach to the recent bigadv changes.

The passive heatsinks are not so good however. Things were getting quite toasty even with wind tunnel airflow hitting them. I've stuck 4 Gentle Typhoons on top of them and now the temps are below 50 degrees C at full load. I never would have thought I'd be using blutack on heatsinks. It seems to be resilient under high temps but the practice is pretty shameless all the same.

Glad you've had a run out of it and all seems well, its amazing what blutack will hold together

How does this compare to the up front cost of the SR2 and the power draw of the SR2?

ie which is better value :P

A lot depends on the build and where you source the components. This build cost me about half that of the dual x5660 SR2. There are a number of differences though - for this I bought the CPUs second hand, I'm running it caseless and the SR-2 was bought when higher prices prevailed.

An advantage on this build is the absence of the need for overclocking and the associated advanced cooling required. Also, there's plenty of scope for upgrading to 12 core Opterons or, with a bios update, Interlagos when it's released.

From memory, I think the SR2 power draw at 4.2GHz is roughly 560W.

Quote:

Originally Posted by One_Box

Glad you've had a run out of it and all seems well, its amazing what blutack will hold together

The performance looks promising ... how about your plans for a case?

If you feel like upgrading, PM me re your CPUs

Thanks.

Re the case, I paid a visit to B&Q and spent £10 on some wood, plastic spacers (designed for shelving) and non-countersunk wood screws. The rig is now in all the case it's going to get for the time being I'm going to tuck it somewhere away from curious eyes and small fingers.

Don't hold your breathe on the upgrade but I'll let you know if plans change

I never would have thought I'd be using blutack on heatsinks. It seems to be resilient under high temps but the practice is pretty shameless all the same.

Quote:

Re the case, I paid a visit to B&Q and spent £10 on some wood, plastic spacers (designed for shelving) and non-countersunk wood screws. The rig is now in all the case it's going to get for the time being I'm going to tuck it somewhere away from curious eyes and small fingers

Mod of the month candidate?

But seriously, those are some impressive numbers considering the price you paid.
Though I'm itching to build a 'super computer' I've decided to wait for the new range of AMD & Intel chips to come out before I build anything new.

OK . So i followed the plan.
Installed the linux ( yuck ) ran the folding client. Checked the cpu was running at like 1600% folding. NP. Still showing 20k ppd with my single AMD Opteron 6274 16 core.
Have i missed a flag or somthing ?